3 October 2026
Alarm at 6:45/7:00. We have to catch a train to Nikko, 2 hours north of Tokyo. We’re out of the hotel by 7:15 and grab a quick bite at the café downstairs.
One stop on our yellow line and then to one of the two SkyTree stations. And then a game of finding the other station, as signs suddenly disappear. Which makes us run around, up and down, towards the station we need to be in. We just make it two minutes before the train departure, which is awfully close.
Not enough with that, we have to go onto a website and log in to present our ticket so we don’t pay the fare at the gate, plus a rapid train pass that Tim bought for us (reserved seats only). After that walk, my pulse needs 20 minutes to calm down on the train.
Express train is the wrong word. It’s passing some of the stations, but fast would be something else. The seats are small and fit more Japanese people, but it’s only for 1 hour 50 minutes. And the train is full to the last seat with people going the same direction.
At Nikko we go in line for the tourist information and get a map with good information on which buses and bus stops to use with our Nikko World Heritage two-day pass. We also buy tickets for the main attraction, the Nikko Toshogu Shrine.
Then to the bus, nicely waiting in line, logging into the ticket again (which becomes a pain throughout the day), and then getting off at the Shinkyo Bridge. First photo option. But not crossing the bridge by foot, since they want money for it.
We take the normal bridge and wait for ages at the only traffic light out there, that seems to be programmed for cars only. Then we can start the climb of stairs up into the World Cultural Heritage area.
We buy tickets for three more attractions here. The Rinno-ji Museum and Shoyo-en garden, the Rinno-ji Temple, and the Taiyuin Mausoleum.
First we visit the museum (which only had selected artifacts with English translation) and the nice little garden. After that, the Rinno-ji Temple. There’s no photographing allowed inside shrines and temples, but you can walk around and look close up.
Then further up the main road towards the Toshogu shrine. Time for a small lunch snack. At the Nikko Toshogu Museum there’s a small café. A piece of matcha cheesecake, a black tea with milk, and a lemonade.
After a stop at a small shrine, before we climb up to the five-story pagoda. The area fills up and we can skip the line for the tickets since we bought them at the tourist information.
Up more stairs into the shrine area. Here the original three monkeys come from 🙈🙉🙊 (at least a little bit). A lot of people here. This is the best-known shrine and it fills up. And guess what… more stairs. We go towards the Ho-to pagoda… which has a sign that says it’s 207 more stairs. I decide to skip it and let Tim climb up there.
Down into the shrine and off with the shoes to walk inside the shrine. They did some impressive artwork and craftsmanship at the shrines. When we get out, there’s the longest queue in front of the stairs through most of the inner yard. We did the right thing taking the early train to get here. People everywhere.
Down the stairs and towards the Shin-en garden. This is a garden with a lot of shrines and statues where you can give offerings to different gods. It’s empty compared to the shrine before. It’s an extra 500 yen ticket and nice and quiet. But this religion here makes you poor. You have to give an offering everywhere and can buy stuff, prayers, charms and incense and and and… Too expensive. I do not subscribe here. 😂
Last area here is the Taiyuin Mausoleum. And guess what… the main shrine is on top of more stairs. But also here very few people, and I think it’s a great area with great history (use Google to find info, that would be too much).
Time to grab some lunch, and that means back to the station area, where there’s more to choose from. A bus ride to the station, then crossing the street, and a taxi driver showing us the X with his arms. Yeah… there were red traffic lights… but on the opposite side of the street. How should one know.
Easy lunch with some steak, salad, and rice. OK, but nothing special. Back to the bus and now up to stop 11 to visit the Tamozawa Imperial Villa Memorial Park. I’ll link the information in the text. We are there shortly before they let the last visitors in. An Indian family stopped the bus with their unpreparedness for some minutes, and then a Japanese guy had to get rid of his coffee to enter the bus. Did I mention we had to log into our accounts again to scan us in and out of the bus??
We are lucky, and the last to get inside. Shoes off, and then we can take the route around the villa. Interesting, simplistic Japanese architecture. One thing they had was a lot of waiting rooms. They seem to be waiting all the time.
One other interesting thing, someone was following us, staying behind the corner until we were gone. Since we were the last taking the tour, they closed the walls to the outside (yes, walls) after we passed to shut down the villa.
I don’t know if I ate something funny, but I needed the Imperial restroom. Not good. Stomach rumbling.
Before we get out we got our second stamp of the day. After that a tour through the small garden (we had to remember that they close at 17:00).
Bus back to Nikko. The bus was late and it was packed. We had to squeeze in. You could not fall. Closer to the town, the bus driver stopped at all stops to tell the people that he’s full and sorry and they have to take another bus or walk (at least that’s what I think he said).
We need reservations for the train. Unfortunately the next free seats are on the 18:41 train, over an hour to wait. We have to do it. Gives me time to find one geocache.
It’s getting dark and colder so we go for a café. Inside I start sweating, get a dry mouth, and feel dizzy. The symptoms, combined with the villa, seem to add up to really bad dehydration. I drank and ate too little, and did too much heavy walking. Thankfully, Tim gives me his isotonic water to help me out until I can buy some stuff at the station.
Back to the station, buying a liter of isotonic water to get fluids and minerals into me, and onto the full train for 1 hour 50 minutes back.
This was a day in total contrast to Tokyo. Rural, nature, forest, and big shrines. Fresh air.
When back at the SkyTree station we try the correct route between the two stations, which we missed in the morning. But there was no chance to find that. Bad signage.
Dinner from 7-Eleven (spaghetti bolognese eaten with chopsticks). New cash, since you really need it here, and eating at the hotel.
A long and challenging day, but fantastic and worth every minute.
